cloth piling machine



I. J. LYIH.

CLOTH FILING MACHINE.

APPucATloN FILED Aue.29.191s.

wwwwmw 1.). LYTH.

CLOTH PILING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.29. 191s.

l ,.32 1 8 34. y Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

4 SHEETSwSHEET 2.

J. J. LYTH.

Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

/m/erl/or J. 1. LYTH.

CLOTH FILING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG.29 |918. 1,321,834. Patented Nov. 18,1919.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wd FI mw w JOHN J'. LYTTI, 0F VALLEYFIELD, QUEBEC, CANADA.

CLOTH-FILING MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1919.

Application filed` August 29, 1918. Serial No. 251,951.

To all 'wlw/la t may concern:

Be it known that I, Jol-IN J. LY'rI-I, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of the city of Valleylield, inthe Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth-Filing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates to improvements in automatically operating machines for piling cloth in bleachery bins or in square open-top keirs, and the object of the invention is to provide a machine of simple, durable and inexpensive construction, which will pile the cloth quickly and uniformly in the bins.

A further object is to provide a machine which will deal with cloth in either rope ili'orm or open width.

A still further object is to provide a machine which may be either individually motor driven or belt driven from a counter shaft.

Another object is to provide a machine which is adjustable in its operation, so that while the range of operation may be over a number oi bins, the machine may be adjusted to work over any one of them. j

Still another object is to provide a machine which will -operate at high speed.

An additional object is to provide a machine which will lay the cloth smoothly, so that it may be removedfrom the bin without snarling.

For the most part, cloth is distributed in bleachery bins or the like by hand. The cloth is delivered usually in rope form in the center of the bin and an operator standing in the bin directs the cloth by means of a pole to different parts ot the bin, so that uniform distribution is effected and the rope of cloth is laid smoothly and without snai-ls. ln practice, the cloth is not laid with anything approaching; the uniformity desired, with the result that the density of the cloth in the bin varies `greatly and the full capacity o t the bin is not utilized. It frequently happens that the operators perm-it the incomingr cloth to accumulate in the cent-er of the bin without distributing same and, in subsequently f listributing this accumulation, they lay the cloth in sucha way that it snarls on removal from the bin. The cloth coming to the bins is usually wet and therefore heavy and diiioult te handle. Machines have been devised for laying cloth in bins but are un` `\vhich a carriage is mounted. This carriage carries a constantly rotating wheel, to which the cloth is delivered through a guiding' eye moving` transversely oft the carriage. The cloth passes over the roll and drops into the bin. The guiding eye is in reality a second and smaller carriage, which travels on tracks mounted on the carriage at right angles to the carriage tracks. The guiding eye is operated back and forth lby a right and left hand screw. The force which drives the carriage is communicated to the reel and to the screw, so that the two operate simultaneously. The carriage is provided with a reversing drive con-trolled by adjustable stops, which may be set at any point in the ,arriages travel, so that the carriage will travel back and forth the full length of its tracks or any part thereof defined by the positioning `of the stops.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention5- l Figure l is a side elevation ot the device showing the drivingend of the carriage.

Fig. 2 is an elevation showing` the opposite side of the device.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

Fig. lf is an enlarged plan view of the driving;` end of the carriage, showing the automatically reversing' drive.

Fig. 5 is a. cross sectional view oil' the cal'- riagesl1owing the mounting oi the guiding,lr eye.

Fig. t3 a side elevation of the machine showing the application of a motor drive thereto.

Fig. 7 is a diagram i]luetratingthe operation of the machine. j

Referring` more particularly to the drawings, l1` designates the ceiling of a mill or framework over a bin, upon which the machine is mounted, and 12 designate hangers depending from the ceiling or "framework at the ends of-a'bin or rowotbinsland carrying the parallel carriage tracks 13, which are preferably steel beams =offchannel ori-section. rEhe invention has been illus- `tratecl in Figs. 1, '2 and 3 as arranged Afor belt drive, so that this invention will first bedescribed in detail and subsequently the ydifferences incident to motor driveindicated.

The hangers 12y project below the tracks 13 and carry a trough 14 'to catch any droppings from the dri-ve chain hereafter 'described. .nectedby steady beams 15 lazt'right angles to the' tracks 13.'

,T he ends of the hangers are con- Below the vtracks 13',r the hangers are provided with bearings 16, un

ki'vhieh shaits A17 are journaled transversely et the tracks 13 and one at `each end ofthe 'machine yOne of these shaiits is provided the track beams 13.V large slatted drum vat each side ot the f rhangers l2 by means et adJustable hooks29. These chains pass over the sprockets 27 and '23 extending' the full width of the carriage vis journaled in the lower part thereof and has fixed thereto at one end a sprocket Wheel 24, over which the endless chain travels. "the chain 20 is held in meshwith a considerable part of the circumference ot the `wiheel 2a by a pair ojtidler pulleys 25, which may be adjusted to regulate the tension of the Vchain 20. rlhe runningwheels 2,2 may be connected to the carriage by individual studs, while the running wheels .22;1 .are Ytor w convenience mounted on the shaft 26, which extends the full width oit the carriage and has. fixed adjacent each end thereof a sprocket wheel 27. A chain 23 is mounted device between the are held in mesh; with a large portion ot the sprocket circumgterence by idler pulleys 30, mounted in pairs on arms 31 pivoted on the shaft. 26 andv held against oscillation by `a link 32 connected to the carriage trame,

At the opposite end of the drum trom the sprocket 24:, a sprocket 33 is iXed. rlhis sprocket drives afbevel pinion 34 by suitable chain gearing The bevel pinion 'operatesbetween and` drives two bevel gears 3G, so lthat these gears obviously rotate in opposite directions. The gears 36 are both freely revoluble on a shaft 37 journaled in the carriage frame and carrying a relatively irrevoluble but. slidable clutch member 38, between the gears 36, adapted to` interlock with either of the gears. The shaft 37 also carries a worm V39 inmesh with a worm wheel e0 .tixedly mounted on the shaft.

A fixed rod 11 is secured between the 'steady beams 15 above the shaft 37. This 'rod carries ra.}')air"otnidjustable resilient stops, each ot' which comprises a collar l2 having means 413 for clampingit to the rod iat any point; a collar 4A sliding on the rod between the collar 4t2 and the carriage; a helical spring surrounding the rod lriesa initd-9 which, in order to relieve the worm` oliall load, is provided with running wheels traveling on both top und bottom otY the tracks 47. The nut is further prt vided-with ruiming wheels 5l which engage adjacent faces oit the tracks. 'll e arrangement ofthese wheels-and their distame apart is such that the nut cannot-move up or down or rotate or. jib, but `can move with a m'ini .mum ofl'tirictionin the axial direction ot the worm. The nut carries a depemlingarm 52, which inclines toward the drum andisprovided with aflarge eye suitably rounded-on its'edges. One end o't the worm is provided with a piniontt connected by a chain with a sprocket '5G fixed to the drum.

In .Figa G, an indivi-dual motor drivt` is shown and the arrangement diltlers trom that previously described solely in the elimination et the 1parts 1st, lo. 1T, 1S, 1 9 and 25,`fand the substitution there-'tor oi a motor 57 mounted at one end ot the carriage ifi-:une and connected byisuiitable chain gearing $.33 with the `drive sprocket 24- oit the drum. "llhismotor is supplied-with current through a flexible-f cable lpreferably depending 'trom the ceiling. The `motor may be mounted in any other locationfound desirable and suitably connected with the parts ot the ma chine.

The operation @t rthe device is extremely simple. The drum lis revolved either by the motor 57 or by the continuously operating chain 20and this revolution is transmitted through thechain gearing to the bevel pinion which drivesy `the gears 31S in opposite directions. The clutch 3S being in mesh with `one o't` the gears, the shaft 37 revolves the worm and worm wheel, so that tlnx shaft 26 and sprockets 27 are revolved. These sprockets-27 are in niesh with kthe chains 28 which serve as racks. The result is that the carriage draavs itself along these chains-.inone direct-ion, the weight being llo manssa supported by the tracks 13. Sinniltaneously with the carriage movement, the drum revolution is transmitted to the right and left worm 48, which is revolved and thereby moves the nut 51 and eye ,53 back and forth across the carriage. The gearing. ratios are such that the nut travels many times back and forth while the carriage is trail'eling a given distance on the tracks 13. When the carriage approaches the limit of its travel, the clutch throwing lever 46 engages a stop collar 44: and slides it along the rod 4l with the carriage, thus compressing the spring a5. rllhis compression of the spring` is rendered possible by the resistance of the clutch to being thrown out, owing to the considerable power which it is transmitting. Then the spring reaches a predetermined com pression, it overcomes this resistance in the clutch and the clutch is thrown out, thus stopping the carr'age. The springl compressing force due to the movement of the carriage being now removed and the clutch beingv free `of the gears 36, the spring 45 expands and throws the clutch into engagement withthe other gear 36. As the gears 36 are driven in oppo site directions, it 1s obvious that 'the direction' of revolution of the shaft 37 and therefore the direction of revolution of the sprockets 27 will be reversed, so that the carriage will commence to move in the reverse direction. rlhe carriage, although very large and heavy, travels at the rate of onlyv a few feet per minute, so that it has practically no momentum and stops Vinstantly the driving power is cut oif. Owing to the low gear which moves the carriage so slowly, the power applied is very great and the carriage will commence moving immediately the power is again applied.v` The 11o-power periods are theoreticallyand may he in practice only the instant of time required for the liberated spring '-15 to expand and the clutch to engage, so that for all practical purposes the carriage may not be stationary any longer at the end of its travel than a high speed reciprocating object would be. rlhis feature and its control are important, as it insures maintenance of proper relation between the carriage movement and position and the eye movement and position. allowing a certain time lag at each reversal of the carriage, the relation of the carriage and eyel is altered, so that the initial path of the eye will not be exactly retraced for a considerable time.

'lhe cloth is fed into the eye in an approxi mately horizontal direct-ion and is passed to the drum, its position on the drum being de tern'iined by the position of the eye. The heavy rope of cloth meshes to a cert-ain extent with the slats of the drum, so that the drum pulls on the rope and draws it through the eye and thenallows it to dro a into that part of the bin determined bythe positions of the eye and carriage. The drum revolves always in the same direction, that is, away from the eye, regardless of the` direction of carriage movement, and therefore always has the same eflect onv the rope of cloth.

rlhe relation between carriage movement and eye movement causes the carriage to travel on an extended scale such a path as is shown in the diagram, F ig. 7. Accordingto this diagram, which is theoretical, the carriage makes three trips before the eye comn'iences to retrace its path. In practice, the machine may be adjusted to produce exactly this result or to increase or decrease the number of carriage movements before the eye commences to retrace its path. Very line adjustments of the gearing, which would be necessary to produce such a result with absolute accuracy, may be dispensed with by permitting),` a slight slackness of the mrions chains, so that the time lag or dwell of the carriage at each reversalcf its movement will enable the eye to enter into an altered relation. In this way, the desired result may be produced with great ease and `without change of gearing.

It will also be noted that the eye and drum are below the mechanism, so that any drip of water or bleaching` solution from the cloth will fall directly into the lreir or bin without touching any of the moving parts and therefore without washing oil or dirt into the bin.

lVhen it is desired to lay clot-h in open width instead of vin rope form, the cloth is passed under the roll 59 instead of through the eye and then over the drum. The eye being now out of use may be stopped by disconnecting its driving mechanism or may hc allowed to ruu-idle By increasing the speed `of the carriage, the cloth may be laid back and forth flatwise in the bin.

By arranging the bins in. rows and plao ing the tracks 13 above the row and then adjusting the stops, the carriage may be made to tin-wel back and forth over any one bin or over any part of one bin. When it is desired to move the carriage from one loin to the next, it is merely necessary to move the stop ahead ofthe carriage to the desired new stopping point and the. carri age will follow until it reaches the stop. The other' stop can then be moved up after the carriage to set the limit of retreat. .During this change from bin to bin, the run of cloth through the machine need not necessarily be stopped, aln though in practice the capacity of the bin is known and the length of rope regulated aiffcordingly, so that it will not be necessary to go into another bin. lt is obvious that if the worm 48 is divided into two or more parts merely by providing connection be tween the right and left hand threads, two or more nuts may be used, so that two or more ropes of cloth may fbe piled simultallO uieo'usly. This" enables a 'machine large yenough to straddle several 'rows of bins to -pileiclothisimultaneously in all the rows or,"i`f opera-'ting over a single bin, to pile several ropes of cloth into the one bin simultaneously, thus filling'the 'bin with great rapidity.

lVhile the invention has-been shown as v'applied'to overhead tracks, fo-r the reason that this will bethemost usual installation, it ris obvious that Vin mills where the `mouths 0f the'E loins are at or 'near afloor level, vthe vtracks 13 may take 'the form iof rails on the vtracks.jmeai'is for 'rot-ating the drum and Afor simultaneously and automatically recipro- 'catingthe fp'i'ling'eyeon the transverse tracks and carriage moving means' driven by said drum.

Afdev'iceaccording'toclaim 1, in which the drum 'rotating 'and carriage moving means comprise asprocket fixed to the drum and "an Vendless driven chain passing over said sprocketland delivering power thereto for the movement of the carriage and piling eye.

j 3.In `a device of lt'he class described, a pair of tracks, af-carriage thereon, a cloth piling 'mea-ns' mounted in the carriage includinga revolubleV cloth feeding druinand a piling eyefmovalole VAtransversely of the direction 'ofthe carriage travel, means for driving sa'idpiling Aeyefroni the drum, a reversible driving-mechanism for the carriage, means for automatically reversing the carriagedriving':mechanism and means for automatically 'f reversing the driving means ofthe' pilingeye a plurality of times during a single carriage movement.

Je. In -a device vofthe class described a reciprocatable carriage, a reciprocatable pilingeyeya cloth feed-ing means /in the can riage,'a single "drivefor said cloth feeding meansycarriage and eye connected Yto the feeding means to operate the saine continuouslyin one direction, a'reversible drive for the carriage and a self-reversing drive for the .piling :eyeI both 'drive'nfrom said cloth feeding means.

'5."In' `a device of'the class described, a reciprocatable carriage, a cloth feeding inea-ns therein, a drive for 'said feeding means, a shifting gear for saidv carriage, a carriage *drive gear operatively connected with the `cloth feedingnieans, and a reversing gear Abetween the carriage dri'vii'igv and carriage` shiftingagears.

(3. In a deviceof lthe class described, a vf amework including a pair of tracks, a

carriage mounted thereon, a driven 'shaft in said carriage, a carriage 'driving gear operatively connected with 'said "shaft, a shifting .gear mounted on the carriage, an adjustably tensioned chain mounted inthe framework passing over'said Ishiftii'ig gear, reversible gear connection betweenthe carriage driving'and carriage'shifting gears, a cloth feeding drum mounted on said 'shaft and a cloth guiding; eye movable transversely of said drum and operatively connectedl with said shaft. I

7. In a device ofthe class described, a carriage, a driven shaft' therein, a piling eye, a right'and left hand screw driving said piling eye, and operative connection between the screw and driven shaft.

S. In a device ofthe class described, a carriage, a driven 'shaft' therein, tracks on said carriage, a nut slid-able in said tracks and held by the tracksa'gainst revolution, acontinuous right and left handscrcw passing through Vsaid nut, operative driving connection between the shaft and screw, and a "piling eye carried by 'the nut.

9. In combination with a device according' to claim 6, tracks on said carriage, a nut slida'ble in said tracks held 'by theftracks against revolution and"carryir'iggjl the guiding eye, a continuous 'right and leftv 'hand screw passing through said nut and drivingconnection between said shaft and the screw.

l0. In'combination with a device according to claim 9, a gear on the drum shaft anda continuously moving endless chain passing over said gear.

1l. In combination with a device' according to claim 6, 'adjustable stops adapted to operate the reversing'gear. y

12.`In a device of the class described, a framework including a pair of tracks, a carriage mounted on said tracks including a piling device and a driving gear, an endless driven chain mounted on the frame work and meshing with the driving 'gear of the carriage, a chaintensioned in the framework, a sprocket wheel mounted in the carriage in mesh with said tensi'oned chain and operative connection between the driving gear and the sprocket, whereby the carriage will'shift itself along said tracks and take power from said endless chain during its travel.

13. In combination with a device according to claim 12,11 reversing 'gear operatively connected between the driving gear,v a sprocket wheel, and kinca-ns automatically actuated byfthe carriage movement at predetermined points for operating said reversing gear.

le. In combination with a device according to claim 13, a cloth feeding roll mounted inthe carriage, a piling eye movable' transversely of the line of carriage movement, means for reciprocating said piling eye, and driving connection. between the feeding device and the driving gear and between the piling eye reciprocating means and the driving gear.

15. In a device of the class described, a framework, a carriage reciprocatable thereon, a piling eye reciprocatably mounted on the carriage and movable transversely of the line of carriage movement, and driving means reciprocating said carriage and piling eye, said means being arranged to reciprocate the piling eye more frequently than the carriage per unit of time.

16. In a device of the class described, a cloth feeding drum, and means driven by the drum and movable transversely of the drum determining the position of the cloth on the drum.

17. In a device ofthe class described, a cloth guiding eye, and a bodily moving feeding drum arranged to draw cloth through the eye and feed the same into a receptacle, and means for moving the eye at considerably greater speed than the drum and transverselyv of the drum to determine the position of the cloth prior to feedinff.

18. In combination with a device according to claim 17 a carriage supporting the cloth feeding and guiding means, and means guiding means thereon, means for moving the feeding means always in a positive direction, and means driven by the feeding means for moving the carriage and the cloth guiding means in positive and reverse directions in different planes.

20. In a device of the class described, a reciprocatable carriage including a cloth feeding drum driven constantly in one direction, a sprocket and a reversible driving1 connection between the drum and sprocket, a Xed tensioned chain in mesh with said sprocket along which the sprocket dravvs the carriage, means for reversing the sprocket drive, a cloth guiding eye moving transversely of said drum and means for regulating the dwell of the carriage at each reversal of its movement to regulate the positions of the drum and eye relative to a fixed point.

2l. A device according to claim 20, in which the means for regulating the length of dwell comprises means for regulating the tension of the chain.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. OH LY I J N J". T-l. 

